Diagrams
by Volcanic Lily
Summary: Ted can't see to draw his diagrams.  Wanting to get away from her family for a little while, Reagan is willing to help.  Ted/Reagan, takes place during "Into the Gauntlet."


**A/N: I've always wanted to hear more about this scene that Ted mentioned in _Into the Gauntlet_, but I don't think anyone's written about it yet. So I decided at long last to write it. Hope you enjoy it! (Disclaimer: Nope, I still don't own _The 39 Clues_. How sad...)**

Ted Starling was worried about his sister and brother.

First, Sinead had snuck off to go to the gauntlet without even informing him or Ned. And that last time he had seen Ned- well, not _seen_, exactly, but felt him at his side- that had been right before that horrible Isabel Kabra had shown up.

Now that he thought back on it, he should have been able to detect the scent of her overpowering perfume in the air before she fired upon them, but he had been too busy worrying about Sinead's safety. And when he had finally been able to regain his senses, he was tied to a stone, and Ned was nowhere to be heard.

Ted couldn't bear the thought that his siblings might be, no probably _were_, in some sort of grave danger. He wished he could have seen Isabel coming- but he couldn't see anything except the strong light of the sun beating down on his face.

He began to think about all of those experimental surgeries that the doctors had offered him and Ned. Maybe they had been onto something. But their ideas had seemed a bit too risky to him. If only there were some way of increasing the odds….

Suddenly, inspiration hit him, with as much force as the dart Isabel had shot at his head. He knew how to improve upon the doctors' theories.

And as quickly as the rush of optimism hit him, it was gone again as he remembered.

"I can't see to draw the diagrams…."

Reagan Holt breathed a loud, annoyed sigh as her father once again kicked at the wall of sheer rock, while his two girls looked on and offered half-hearted words of encouragement. Ever since the Holts had managed to untie themselves, he had been trying to get down into the gauntlet to find Hamilton.

"It's not gonna work, Dad," she said at last.

Eisenhower Holt turned to stare down at his daughter. "Dad _what_?" he boomed.

He expected a "Dad, sir," but today, Reagan wasn't going to give him one. Instead, she turned around and walked back toward the others, who were still tied to the stones.

She strode past her fellow Cahills. They all looked somber, sullen, silently accepting of their current fate. Just then, a male voice broke the unnerving quiet of the island.

"I can't see to draw the diagrams…."

Reagan turned her head in the direction of the speaker. It was that auburn-haired Ekat boy, Ted Starling, the one that was apparently blind. She was curious- what was this about diagrams?

She didn't know why, but she decided that maybe she could untie him, at least. The poor guy; she could hardly imagine what it would be like to not be able to see. Then, Madison and Hamilton could beat up on her, and she wouldn't be able to do anything about it. How awful!

Ted didn't notice Reagan's presence until her shadow suddenly came between himself and the sun. Her voice asked, "Need some help?"

The next thing he knew, the shadow was gone, but he felt someone come up behind him and work to untie his hands. Then, the silhouette of the girl was back in front of him, kneeling now.

"Thanks," said Ted. Slowly, he reached out to touch her with one now unrestrained hand. He paused. "Who is this?"

"Reagan. Reagan Holt," she replied. "You're Ted, right?"

His nearly sightless eyes stared right past her as he grinned and said, "You can actually tell me apart from Ned?"

"Yeah. Well, I hate it when people get me and Madison mixed up. So, what were you saying about diagrams?" asked Reagan.

Ted frowned. "I had this idea for how to improve the chances that the experimental surgeries our doctors were talking about would work and restore my sight and get rid of Ned's headaches. But I can't draw the diagrams because I can't see them."

"Oh." Reagan looked first at Ted, then back at her father and twin sister, and finally back at Ted again. "You… want some help?"

He looked stunned.

"No, I'm serious," she said. "I think I have a pen and some napkins in my pocket." She fished around in the pocket of her pink track pants for a moment before retrieving them. "Okay. Shoot."

Hesitantly, Ted began trying to explain the pictures in his mind to the Tomas girl. He spoke very slowly at first, because he honestly didn't think she would get it. But as she obeyed his directions and he searchingly traced the indentations the pen had left on the paper, he realized that Reagan was actually following his verbal instructions quite well.

Then came the second part of the sketch, which in Ted's mind was a bit more difficult and a lot harder to put into simple words.

Reagan glanced up at him expectantly. "What next?" she prompted.

"It's hard to explain," Ted said. "Here, I'll try to show you…."

He stretched out his hand and fumbled around for a bit before he finally found Reagan's hand that held the pen. He slowly, meticulously guided her hand as the pen glided across the paper napkin.

Reagan was sort of glad that Ted couldn't see (and that Eisenhower and Madison were otherwise distracted) so that he didn't notice the color her cheeks were turning- pink, to match her new tracksuit. Her face felt like it was on fire, and she didn't like it one bit.

So she concentrated on the diagrams that were taking shape before her eyes. She didn't quite understand it, but it took her mind off of Hamilton's current predicament, her father's insanity, and her burning cheeks.

After several more minutes, the sketch was complete. Tracing the lines with his hand, Ted smiled in Reagan's direction and said, "Thank you, Reagan."

"You're welcome," she answered quietly. Probably some sort of Ekat mind trick, she normally would have thought- only Ted wasn't acting like an overconfident Ekaterina genius. Without his vision, he just seemed vulnerable, so that she felt sorry for him. Or was that a part of his trick, too? No, he wasn't a scheming Lucian.

Reagan spotted movement out of the corner of her eye. It was her dad and Madison, at long last coming back from their failed attempts at breaking through to Hamilton. With a quickly murmured "bye," she leapt to her feet and darted over to join them.

Clutching the napkin that held the diagrams in his hand, Ted broke into a grin. With these new improvements, he and Ned could be healed.

_Well, provided that Ned is all right. Sinead, too…_

But that very moment, a cry rose up from one of the other Cahills. "They're back!"

Ted's heart began to race. Were his siblings accounted for in the "they?" He raised his voice and called out, "Are Sinead and Ned there? Are Sinead and Ned there?"

Over the sound of the Holts chanting, "Hammy! Hammy!" Ted thought he heard a "yes." He sprang to his feet in an effort to reach them, the diagrams still clasped in his hands.

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed my second fanfic! If you have any criticism, feel free to give it to me. I won't mind (as long as you give me logical reasons and all; you know...). Thank you!**

**~Lily**


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